This invention relates to a potato flavor enhancing composition principally used to produce a more natural potato flavor in food products prepared from processed potatoes.
The use of potatoes in processed form continues to grow worldwide. Regardless of the widespread popularity of the many frozen, dehydrated and otherwise preserved food products, manufacturers are constantly attempting to improve the flavor and public acceptance of these products. The flavor of freshly prepared potato products is far superior to the flavor of potato products made from processed potatoes which are generally characterized by their bland flavor. French fried potatoes made from frying raw potatoes, as opposed to processed potatoes, have a unique and highly desirable fresh potato flavor.
In the past, there have been numerous attempts to duplicate the flavor of a freshly fried natural French fried potato. These attempts have included laboratory preparation of numerous synthetic organic flavoring agents or vegetable-based flavoring agents for being added to processed potatoes to enhance their flavor. Other attempts have included modification of various techniques in the processing of potatoes. Several of these prior art processes are described below. Despite all of these prior attempts, a natural potato flavor enhancing composition for use in processed potatoes has not been produced.
The flavor differences between freshly prepared potato products and those that have been processed are caused by many factors. These include the loss of soluble constituents in water used in the processing; changes caused by interaction of flavor components during high temperature treatment, such as blanching, mixing, and particularly dehydration; losses during storage life of the product after processing; and the development of off-flavors during storage life.
Previous attempts at preparing potato products with improved flavor have been described in many patents. British Pat. No. 1,420,505 to Purves et al. describes processing of potatoes with a minimum loss of water soluble ingredients. In a dehydrated mashed potato flake process, the standard steps of precooking and cooling, which are normally carried out in water, are eliminated to produce a more natural flavor in snacks made from the flakes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,993 to Strong describes techniques for greatly reducing the blanching required to make frozen French fries. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,845 to Westover describes a process for making potato flakes in which the potatoes are not peeled to achieve better flavor.
The flavor of processed potatoes also has been enhanced by addition of various natural ingredients and plant materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,187 to Liepa describes a process where the flavor of products prepared from dehydrated potatoes is improved by adding a flavoring agent selected from plants of the Cruciferea family. The process disclosed in Canadian Pat. No. 871,648 to Liepa attempts to achieve the same result by adding ascorbic acid.
A large number of organic flavoring agents also have been developed for the purpose of imparting various types of potato flavor to potatoes and other food products. Some of these are intended to restore the original "earthy" flavor constituents in potatoes. Others focus on the use of pyrazine derivatives, inasmuch as pyrazine flavor constituents are largely responsible for the characteristic aroma and flavor of natural baked or fried potatoes. In the prior art, there are at least about 50 known potato flavoring agents available in powder or liquid form. Examples of such chemical flavoring agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,501,315 to Slakis et al.; 3,619,211 and 3,814,818 to Chang et al.; 3,772,039 and 3,829,582 to Guadagni et al.; 3,666,494 to Bentz et al.; and 4,263,332 to Withycombe et al. These chemical flavoring agents typically have been demonstrated in food products that require no further processing. For example, these flavoring agents have been added to mashed potatoes and potato chips after each of these food products is prepared. In other instances, the flavoring ingredients are added to oil in which the potato products are fried, rather than being added to the product itself. It has been my experience that when such chemical flavor additives are added to a potato-based intermediate product which is later shaped and fried, and possibly frozen and later reheated, the chemical flavoring is either volatilized (disappears) or is greatly altered by the subsequent processing, such that the flavor of the finished product either is not improved or develops an objectionable flavor totally unrelated to natural potato flavor.
Potato solids also have been heated and added to a potato product to impart a scorched or baked flavor to the product. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,704 to Fritzberg discloses a process in which potato flakes are toasted and added to a dough which is extruded and fried to form a French fry with improved texture and flavor. Fritzberg adds the toasted potato flakes at a level from 50% to 100% by weight of the dehydrated mashed potato in the French fry mixture to achieve the texture and flavor improvements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,198 to Wisdom discloses heat-treating a minor portion of the surface of a dough product prior to frying to give the finished product a toasted flavor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,982 to Sevenants describes a process for producing baked potato flavor from fresh potatoes or fried potato chips made from raw potatoes or dehydrated potatoes and raw slices. The potato material is then pulverized, extracted and concentrated and used to enhance the flavor of potato chips. The process involves solvent extraction of the flavor ingredients and contacting the extract with a cation-exchange resin. Pyrazine compounds are separated from the cation-exchange resin and then can be added to the dough for making potato chips. U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,588 to Willard discloses a process for making a fabricated baked potato product in which an outer layer of dough encloses a core of mashed potatoes. The product is then fried and frozen. Cut pieces of potatoes are baked and optionally dried for use as a flavoring ingredient in the outer dough layer. In addition, potato flakes can be toasted at a temperature of 250.degree. F., as described by Fritzberg, and later reconstituted with water to form the outer layer of the baked potato product.
The present invention provides a potato flavor enhancing composition that produces a more natural potato flavor for processed potato products than has been possible with the flavor ingredients or flavor enhancement techniques of the prior art. The flavor enhancing composition of this invention can be added to processed potatoes and/or used in potatoes that undergo further processing after the flavor enhancer is added, or it can be added to the water of hydration used for reconstituting dehydrated potato pieces; and yet the flavor imparted is not volatilized or altered by subsequent processing such as heat-treatment or frying of the potato product to which the flavor enhancer is added. The flavor imparted to the finished product also does not experience loss of flavor or develop off-flavors during subsequent storage life. In addition, the flavor enhancing composition is made from a combination of flavor constituents that are easily available and require no processing, except for one component which requires only minimal processing, as opposed to the complex synthesis or processing of many of the prior art flavor enhancing ingredients.